NFL Predictions 2014

NFC West

Record:

Seattle: 11-5
San Francisco: 10-6
Arizona: 7-9
St. Louis: 6-10

NFC South

New Orleans: 12-4
Atlanta: 8-8
Tampa Bay: 6-10
Carolina: 6-10

NFC North

Chicago: 11-5
Green Bay: 11-5
Detroit: 9-7
Minnesota: 7-9

NFC East

Philly: 10-6
Dallas: 7-9

New York: 6-10

Washington: 5-11

AFC East

New England: 10-6
Miami: 7-9
Buffalo: 5-11
New York: 4-12

AFC North

Cincinnati: 10-6
Baltimore: 9-7
Pittsburgh: 8-8
Cleveland: 5-11

AFC South

Indianapolis: 10-6
Houston: 6-10
Tennessee: 6-10
Jacksonville: 5-11

AFC West

Denver: 12-4
San Diego: 9-7
Kansas City: 6-10
Oakland: 3-13

The Day the Thunder Clapped

Today is an odd day to be a Seattle sports fan.

To embrace a Seattle team is to embrace a constant tease with little redemption. It feels helpless. As fans we try our best to collectively will these teams to the ultimate prize, championships.

Seattle has great fans when our team is winning. Yet, when the chips are down and most of the fan base fades away, they casually complain about that seasons' mistakes as easily as they do about our fickle weather.

In my lifetime I have witnessed the Mariners, Seahawks and most recently, the Sonics threaten to leave town. Each threat revolved around building a new stadium/arena. It was never about a lack of fan support.

SafeCo Field set Mariners average attendance records at over 3 million per season starting the 2000-01' season. Those ticket sales led baseball through the 2004 season.

Qwest/CenturyLink Field regularly sells out Seahawks and Sounders game.

Key Arena rose out of the previous Coliseum ashes in 1995. In 2007, the NBA said a completely new arena was necessary. The Sonics lived there till 2008. You know the rest.

Tonight, I plan on being conflicted. The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. No, these are not the SuperSonics. They are the Thunder. Two players were drafted  a Sonic (Kevin Durant and Nick Collison). Those two men are their last remaining connection to Seattle.

Seattle drafted Collison in 2004. Durant was drafted in 2007. Russell Westbrook was drafted (but never played) by a team dressed as a Sonic but secretly was a Thunder. What the hell is a singular Thunder?

To begin the season, I confidently predicted that the last two teams standing would be the Heat and Thunder. It wasn't that hard of a choice. They are easily the most athletic, talented and exciting teams in the NBA. Period.

My rooting interest is for the Miami Heat to silence the Thunder in seven games. Politics aside,it will surely be a fantastic series for all basketball fans. Ideally, if OKC is ever going to have a shot at a ring, it will be in a future time when Seattle is an NBA town again. That way the Thunder will have to "compete" against them to earn a title.

Until that day, most Seattlites agree, we need to turn up the Heat.

Party Crashing: The American League West(side) Story

The time has come to showcase the rise of Major League Baseball's forgotten division. No longer will this collection of four teams be ignored by the East coast media. All it took was back-to-back World Series appearances by the Texas Rangers, the Anaheim Angels signing of the arguably the game's best player; Albert Pujols. Not to mention the blockbuster talent swap between baseball's most understated rivalry; the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees. And who could forget the little-team-that-could, Oakland Athletics, and their Hollywood showcase in the Oscar darling; "Moneyball"?

Yes, it was an off-season of change and raised expectations that are sure to fall short and others guaranteed to blow our minds.

Leading off...

As a franchise, Texas is hotter than a June bug on the Dallas/Ft. Worth tarmac. The Rangers are American League West division's two-time reigning champ and have won the AL Pennant the last two years. Both World Series appearances were failures, falling short to the National League twice. Regardless, the accomplishment of representing the AL is unbelievably hard to repeat. The last time a team that went back-to-back years in the World Series was the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008 and 2009, winning the former.

Power on top of more power defines the Ranger batting lineup. Their team strategy has always been to out slug their opponent. In 2011, Texas scored 5.27 runs per game while their pitching allowed an average of 4.17 runs.

Opposing pitchers beware, their dangerous lineup is still intact from last season. They lost ace starting pitcher, CJ Wilson, to Anaheim but rebounded nicely by adding Japan's most talented pitcher, Yu Darvish. The Darvish signing was all the rage earlier in the off-season because of his outlandish price tag. Texas outbid other potential suitors just for the right to negotiate a contract with his agent. The price you ask? $51.7 million dollars. That did not include a contract with the team. Fortunately for the Rangers, Darvish later agreed to a six-year $56 million dollar contract.

To neatly explain Darvish's potential worth; if he posted his 2011 numbers in Japan with Texas in 2012, he would easily win the Cy Young award for best pitcher. The defending AL champs look poised to slug their way to top once more.

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As for Anaheim, their roster has never looked better top to bottom. The Angels' lineup is the perfect combination of budding youth and veteran savvy. The starting pitching features three legitimate ace-type pitchers (Weaver, Haren, Wilson) whom, before joining forces were all their club's best pitcher. Last but most certainly not least, they signed 3-time MVP, Albert Pujols.

Scary.

The Angels went into the off-season with a goal, combine their incredible homegrown talent with free agent signings to yank back the division crown from Texas. It is safe to say that the pilfering of the Rangers best pitcher, Wilson, while adding the game's best player, Pujols, that the mission was accomplished.

The addition of Pujols cannot be understated. He is arguably the greatest first baseman of all-time. Earning nine All-Star selections, three MVPs, and two World Series rings by age 32 speaks for itself. Insert him into a lineup that already boasts some of baseball's greatest rising hitters (Trout, Bourjos, Kendrick, Trumbo) and stud veterans (Hunter, Abreu, Wells) and you've got yourself a club that can do it all.

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Seattle has not reached the playoffs since the incredible 116-win season of 2001. Since reaching the all-time win mark, the Mariners have gone a paltry, 758-862. The sharp decline can be tied to a weak farm system, the inability to keep future Hall of Fame players, steroid testing and a horrible general manager named Bill Bavasi.

If Seattle was located on the East coast or a big-time media market, the city would surely boast more sporting success than a Seattlite can imagine. Instead the Mariners lost Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, and Randy Johnson to larger, more desirable markets. How many once-in-a-generation players must Seattle lose before a team owner does something about it!?

But, I digress. The "management" of Bavasi between the 2003-2008 seasons achieved nothing. In fact, I would argue that Bavasi set the franchise back a solid five years. Hence, 2012 being the most optimistic year the fan base has felt in forever. However, most fans would agree the goal this year is not a playoff berth. Instead, Mariner fans are looking for a strong follow-up to last year's exciting glimpses into the future with 2013 (5 years later) being the playoff target date.

The consensus among baseball scouts is that Seattle's pitching staff could rival anyone's by 2013. Led by the incomparable, Felix Hernandez, the future rotation should fill out with the young arms of James Paxton, Taijuan Walker and Danny Hultzen. To put the club's confidence in these guys in perspective; the Mariners traded a sure-fire young ace, Michael Pineda to the Yankees for an equally talented switch-hitting catcher/DH named Jesus Montero.

Pineda made the all-star team his rookie year. More accolades are sure to follow. Yet, Seattle traded him to the much maligned Yankees for their best hitting prospect. The story is yet to be written about this 2012 team but I have a strong feeling this is the beginning of a fun ride.

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Not even Brad Pitt can make the Oakland Athletics look sexy. General manager, Billy Beane, played by Pitt, is a legend by himself. Adding Pitt into the mix put that legend into orbit. Too bad for Beane and the A's, that whole 'Moneyball' system really only worked for a couple years. And by worked, I mean they made the playoffs 2000-03 and once again in 2006. Oakland won one series out of those five appearances.

Since 2006, the A's haven't sniffed a .500 record. Beane seems to think that if you constantly trade one talent for 3 lesser talents it will all eventually lead to a winner. Unfortunately, for Oakland you need to spend money on free agents in unison with grooming a strong farm system if you want to compete with the big boys (NY, Boston).

The 2012 Athletics will continue to be average at best. Any time a Seattle fan thinks it can't get any worse, just remember Oakland and be cool.

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The American League West will be wild and as exciting as ever this season. For Anaheim and Texas the future is now. For Seattle the future is here but not there. And Oakland is once again headed back to the future.

Stay tuned for other divisional previews!

In Your Head

Winners will lose, but losers will fail.

The culture surrounding the Seahawks franchise these days is inspiring, reflective, and progressive. They expect to win and they are, head coach Pete Carroll is realizing his self-fulfilling prophecy.

Carroll's goal when he took charge of football operations and head coaching duties was to make the roster his own. With the help of general manager John Schnieder, Carroll has compiled the opportunistic and tough-hitting defense that when combined with a smash-mouth running game yields consistent wins.

Coaches rarely get Carte Blanche with their roster when hired. Fans need to give Seahawks management credit, they gave Carroll the chance to completely rebuild the team in his ideal image and it's paying off. He has shaped the Seahawks into a stubborn bully that won't go down.

Seattle was 2-3 entering their mid-October bye week. Then three straight losses against beatable teams put them in a position to satisfy their critics opinions of a high draft picks and coaching hot seats. At 2-6, Seattle was a sorry bunch. On paper the next game against AFC North leader, Baltimore, was supposed to be a blowout even on Seattle's trusty home field. Wrong. The Seahawks channeled the Raven's tough run style and suffocating defense leading to a shocking 22-17 win. Three wins in the following four games has Seattle believing they can play with anyone.

Coaches can show you to the toolbox, but players must wield the hammer.

Seattle's new hard-nosed attitude can be attributed to runningback, Marshawn Lynch. He exemplifies the Seahawks' team mentality: fight until you fall and then get back up asking for seconds.

The man leads the league in broken tackles (and souls crushed). When tacklers first make contact he does not go down. The yards gained after initial contact is amazing. Simply, Lynch earns his yardage through sheer willpower. Lynch ranks seventh in rushing at 963 yards with nine scores. This marks the first 1,000 yard rusher Seattle will have since the glory days of Shaun Alexander and his unbeatable offensive line.

The winning attitude that permeates this team is similar to the "us and against world" mantra many war generals have utilized as a battle cry. Coach Carroll planted a seed in his players' head last season when his supposedly bad playoff team knocked the explosive New Orleans Saints out of the first round.

With that win, the Seahawks sent a message to the league. These are not the pushovers you've known before. Those losers don't live here anymore. They play like winners now.

In the past 13 games, Seattle has solidified it's identity as a team that will punch you in the mouth on offense and turn around kick you in the ass on defense. This is a team that doesn't play well with other and wants their football back.

2011-2012 NBA PLAYOFF SEED PREDICTIONS

ATLANTIC--(1) BOSTON--(2) PHILLY--(3) NY--(4) NJ

CENTRAL--(1) CHICAGO

SOUTHEAST--(1) MIAMI--(2) ATLANTA--(3) ORLANDO

NORTHWEST--(1) OKC--(2) UTAH

PACIFIC--(1) LAL--(2) PORTLAND--(3) LAC

SOUTHWEST--(1) MEMPHIS--(2) DALLAS--(3) SAN ANTONIO

SLEEPER EAST AND WEST--INDIANA & SACRAMENTO

Facing the facts

As bad as the public perception of the Seattle Seahawks is, it could be a lot worse.

The Seahawks could be win less and have low attendance...(ie: Miami). Instead, they have 2 wins out of 5 and the loudest home crowd in football.

The Seahawks could have lost their best player (Manning) for the season before it even started...(ie: Indianapolis) Instead, the Seahawks roster is looking relatively healthy being that it's 6 weeks into the season.

What about the 8 NFL teams that have 1 win or less? No, thanks.

Now there would be an advantage if this team actually was horrible, advantage being a very high draft pick. The whole football universe is caught up in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes because of his can't-miss arm and football mind. The Stanford quarterback will be the first overall pick but the team choosing is undetermined.

This much I know, the Seahawks will not be that team. They are simply too good to be bad enough to draft Luck. In some way that sucks. In another way it's kind of a relief that the Hawks already have enough talent. in enough places to win. Don't get me wrong, Seattle needs to start grooming the next franchise QB as soon as possible but the team as a whole is decent.

The Seahawks probably have another 3 wins in them. Honestly, it could be more. They almost beat San Francisco and Atlanta.

Most franchises need to hit rock bottom to eventually rise to the top. A lot of big-time quarterbacks are chosen in the top-10 of the draft but not all. You just never know till you know. If the Seahawks have a top-10 pick and a quarterback is available they better pull the trigger.

The only scenario I would accept with their first pick besides quarterback would be a cornerback. Veteran cornerback Marcus Trufant suffers injuries too often. The other options are Brandon Browner and Walter Thurmond. Both of those two guys are still young and learning on the fly but they have potential. I want Seattle to have one of those guys that shuts down one side of the field by himself. Pair a guy like that with safeties Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas and no one will want to throw on Seattle.

There are 11 more games to be played this season. Many things will happen between now till January. Many losses will have to be toughed out but I just want to ensure my Hawk fans out there not to get down on your team. You could always be the 0-5 Rams.

No, thanks.

Curry no longer part of recipe for success

Another pick bites the dust. You can now add Aaron Curry to the list of Seattle athletes that were paid big money and failed.

This morning the Seahawks traded the former fourth-overall pick from 2009 to the Oakland Raiders for a couple meaningless future draft picks. Sad story really.

Curry was a highly touted linebacker out of Wake Forest University that was widely considered the best defensive collegiate player that year. Back then he was added to a linebacker corp including Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill. Those three were supposed to be a dynamic trio that would dominate for years. Instead, those guys have all failed one way or another.

The speed of the pro game consistently proved too much for the very athletic Curry. He rarely sacked quarterbacks or forced turnovers. In the last two weeks he had been supplanted in the starting lineup by a rookie linebacker named K.J. Wright.

Tatupu made a couple Pro Bowls in the beginning of his career but quickly declined after a few concussions and minor injuries. To his and Seahawk fans surprise, his services were not retained this season. Since his release in August Tatupu has not been signed by another team. It's a very curious situation for a former stud that still is 28 years old.

Hill started strong with the Hawks too but started getting in trouble off the field. He was involved in domestic disputes with his girlfriend and then was cut from the team. Seattle brought him back this year for very little money then his initial contract and he has performed well enough to start.

The reality is that Curry was between a rock and hard place. He was a young man trying to live up to his draft status and the expectations that come with it. Unfortunately, the talent surrounding his was weak, thus, Curry had to play extra well to make up for everyone else. That was not a recipe for success.

Curry probably will improve in Oakland where expectations are diminished and he can just run around the field free of expectations. Many athletes have left Seattle to have better career numbers.

The bright side of this trade is the multiple millions of dollars saved by cutting that contract as well as the cheap contract the rookie replacement Wright is making in Curry's place. Maybe that extra money can be used for a big signing next season when the Hawks will be closer to a consistently good team.